Regulations for heavy quick-firing field
artillery
|
|
|
The tactics of
the heavy field artillery was dealt with two manuals Инструкция
за
употреблението
на тежката полска
артилерия в
боя (Instructions for the employment of the heavy field
artillery in combat) published in 1908 and Устав за
строевата служба
въ
скорострелната
гаубична
артилерия (Field
service regulations for the quick-firing howitzers) published two years
later, in 1910. The first text
was introduced before the new quick-firing howitzers had been delivered, and
took into account only the old 120mm Krupp and the 150mm Schneider howitzers.
The main duty of the heavy field artillery was to support the infantry
attacking strong field fortifications and barrage works. It could also get
its place in the field battle, supporting the field artillery against the
enemy field guns. Their emplacements should be chosen so that they were able
to fulfil their tasks without being moved. The Regulations, on the other hand,
regarded as heavy field artillery only the 120mm howitzers, both Krupp and
Schneider, while the 150mm heavy howitzers were assigned to the fortress
artillery. As for the service of the piece and of the battery, the text basically
followed the directions established for the field artillery, adopting the
same arrangements and the same orders. Composition and subdivision. The 120mm QF
howitzer battery had 4 howitzers, 12 ammunition wagons and the transport train.
It was subdivided as follows : – fighting
unit : 4 howitzers with 4 ammunition wagons subdivided into two
sections, 2 ammunition wagons (1 with shrapnel) as first supply echelon and a
cart with observation and communication devices; – battery
reserve : 6 ammunition wagons, a field forge, a wagon carrying tools,
reserve troops, reserve horses, hors rang troops and a spare carriage; – transport
train : 8 two-horses carts: 1 field kitchen, 2 food supply carts, 4
forage carts, 1 baggage cart. The 120mm not
QF howitzer battery had 6 howitzers, 18 ammunition wagons (6 with mine
shells) and the transport train. It was subdivided as follows : – fighting
unit : 6 howitzers with 3 ammunition wagons subdivided into three
sections, 3 ammunition wagons as first supply echelon and a cart with
observation and communication devices; – battery
reserve : 12 ammunition wagons, a field forge, a wagon carrying tools,
reserve troops, reserve horses, hors rang troops and a spare carriage; – transport
train : 9 two-horses carts: 1 field kitchen, 2 food supply carts, 5
forage carts, 1 baggage cart. The 150mm
battery had 4 howitzers battery, 12 ammunition wagons and the transport
train. It was subdivided as follows : – fighting
unit : 4 howitzers with 4 ammunition wagons subdivided into two
sections, 2 ammunition wagons as first supply echelon and a cart with
observation and communication devices; – battery
reserve : 6 ammunition wagons with mine shells, a wagon carrying tools,
reserve troops, reserve horses, hors rang troops; – transport train :
8 two-horses carts: 1 field kitchen, 2 food supply carts, 4 forage carts, 1
baggage cart. The train
carts were drawn by two horses, all remaining by six. Every battery
had one cart carrying 6 Linnemann spades, 6 picks, 2 axes and 8 little
hatchets. In order to provide communication between the units every battery
had 4 field telephones with In battle formation
(боен строй) the
howitzer was deployed exactly as the field gun, i.e. unlimbered, with the
spade sunk into the ground and the ammunition wagon tilted on its left on the
same line. The only difference was that the howitzer attended by six
servants, besides the commander, instead of five. In route formation
(строй за движение)
the howitzer was towed by six horses, exactly as the field gun, even if both
the limbered howitzer and its ammunition wagon were weightier. As a rule the
place of heavy field artillery was in the rear of the main body, but if an
attack on a fortified position was foreseen, it should be put forward so that
it could quickly come into action. The battery reserve followed the fighting
unit of the battery. Marching close to the enemy, all the battery reserves of
the division were grouped and moved behind the last battery under the command
of the most senior chief of the battery reserves. Projectiles. The field howitzer fired
three kind of projectiles : shrapnel, mine shell, and common shell. The
shrapnel fired by field guns was considerably superior to that of the
howitzers due to the greater penetration of the bullet, a result of the
greater velocity of the projectile itself at the point of burst. Actually
field howitzers fired more slowly than field gun and had to expend twice the
weight of ammunition to produce the same result. To compensate for this,
howitzer shrapnel bullets were made heavier than those used in field gun. The
superiority of the heavier projectiles stood out when it was necessary to
destroy material objects. Mine or
torpedo shells were H.E. shells with thinner walls and a larger cavity for
the bursting charge in order to bring up the weight without unduly
lengthening the shell. This enabled to shoot with shrapnel and shells without
changing ranging tables. They were more dangerous than ordinary H.E. shells,
since they contained a quantity of explosive sufficient to destroy the
howitzer itself if it burst in the bore. They were adopted by the field
howitzers since they needed a powerful shell for attacking field
entrenchments. The common
shells, being less effective, were used only by old howitzers and were
replaced, whenever possible, by mine shells. The universal shell
(Einheitsgeschoss) was adopted only on the eve of the Balkan Wars. Direct
fire with time shrapnel was employed against troops immediately behind cover.
Percussion fire was used to reach targets under splinter proof covers. Mine
shells with delay action fuze were used to penetrate the roof of the covers
before bursting. Since field
howitzers fired with several different blasting charges (five for 120mm and
150mm Schneider howitzers, and three for 120mm Krupp howitzers), the Regulations contained detailed
information about the careful selection of the elevation and the charge to
provide the optimum angle of fall of the projectile. Command. The field howitzers
divisions were not organically attached to the Infantry Divisions and did not
move always with it, but formed the Army artillery reserve. When some
divisions operated together, they were put under the command of the senior
division commander, who took the name of “Commander of the heavy field
artillery”. When the howitzers operated along with the field artillery, the
command was assumed by the senior commanding officer. Employment in combat. When it was the time to
come into the action, all the howitzers should be quickly placed in order to
fire en masse. As a rule the heavy field artillery opened fire from covered
positions and only exceptionally it could avoid to
fire above its own troops, in order to repel an attack with direct fire or to
intervene in an infantry combat at close quarters. When the available
ammunition was scarce, the howitzers should fire only against that targets
which were really worth of wasting ammunition. The might of
the howitzers batteries could be successfully employed against stationary targets.
Their powerful effect was very effective especially against shielded
artillery, with crew protected against direct shrapnel fire, as well as
against covered targets in field fortifications, trenches, shelters, high
forests etc. Changes of position had to be undertaken only if the conditions
of the engagement required it. Attack. In attack the commander of the unit
involved fixed the mission that the field heavy artillery should fulfil
independently or along with the field artillery, while the head of the
artillery assigned the targets and directed the operations of the whole
artillery. As a rule the
heavy field batteries at first fired against the enemy artillery and, after
having reached the superiority, they concentrated the fire against the point
where the main attack of the infantry had been fixed. Against little visible
targets a success could be obtained only by mass fire: therefore the
batteries of a Division should not shoot on a front of more than In the attack
against fortified positions, the heavy artillery batteries should come into
action only when the plan of attack was fully established. They came into the
selected places covertly or by night, but
until the enemy howitzers were not located, the opposing line should be
bombed by the shrapnel of the field artillery. The main task
of the heavy field artillery was to weaken the enemy heavy artillery. When
this goal was achieved, part of the field artillery should neutralize it,
while the remaining part along with the howitzers was assigned to the
preparatory bombardment of the area chosen for the break-through. The action
of the infantry should be strictly co-ordinated with the artillery fire. The
effect of the heavy field artillery fire was greater when the infantry attack
forced the enemy to occupy its fighting line. The main task of the commander
of the unit was exactly to co-ordinate the gradual deployment of the infantry
with protection offered by the artillery fire. Defence. In defence the main task
of the heavy field artillery was to fight against the enemy batteries in
order to overwhelm them. It came into position only when the direction of the
enemy attack was clear, in order to avoid the inconvenience of a premature displacement
and to prevent the enemy to locate its disposition. At first it
should fire along with the field artillery against the opposing batteries
that were visible, and then it turned against those batteries, whose fire had
been only perceived. It had to fulfil this task even when the field artillery
took upon itself the defence against the enemy infantry attack. It had to
intervene against the enemy infantry only when the decisive attack was
launched. |